


Make Me

by JoMouse



Series: Tumblr Prompts [26]
Category: One Direction (Band), Zayn Malik (Musician)
Genre: Actor Louis, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Hospital, Doctor Niall, Doctor Zayn, Doctor/Patient, M/M, Major Character Injury, Major Illness, Mechanic Liam, PCA Harry, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-02
Updated: 2016-12-02
Packaged: 2018-09-03 19:20:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8727142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoMouse/pseuds/JoMouse
Summary: Liam has the worst luck, but the cutest doctor.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is based off this tumblr prompt: "i do stupid shit and you’re my doctor au - Ziam again please :P" (I believe it was from my fave anon Little Angel, but not entirely sure) as well as combined with [this post](http://my-one-and-only-fantasy.tumblr.com/post/148954935241/officialcadbane-ohsebs-ohsebs-ohsebs) that was sent to me by [Ari](http://dangerouslycalmandcollected.tumblr.com).
> 
> This is further proof that I really cannot seem to write anything short. This drabble has ended up 5K+. Wasn't sure I would be able to ever finish this, tbh, but I hope y'all enjoy it.
> 
> xx-Joey
> 
> Don't know 'em. Don't own 'em. Don't show 'em.

Liam sat in the A&E, holding his arm against his chest and trying not to cry in front of his mate. Louis was still laughing at him for falling off the ladder. “It’s your fault,” he snapped. “If you hadn’t dragged me to that damn theatre to help you, I wouldn’t be here right now with a shattered arm!”

The curtain was pushed to the side then, Liam’s jaw dropping when the most beautiful person he’d ever seen walked in holding an x-ray film. “It’s not shattered,” he said, sliding the film onto the light box on the wall. “In fact, it’s not even broken.”

“And who are you?” Louis asked.

“Sorry, I’m Dr. Zayn Malik, one of the residents here.” He held a hand out to Louis. “Since you aren’t the one sitting on the bed, I’m assuming you are not Mr. Payne.”

Liam waved the hand of the arm that wasn’t currently throbbing. “That would be me. Liam Payne.”

“Can you verify your date of birth, please?” Dr. Malik asked, looking down at the chart.

“August 29, 1993,” Liam said, smiling when the doctor looked up at him, his eyes widening for a second.

“Right. Well, where do you think you fall on this pain scale?” he asked, showing Liam a picture of faces that went from green and smiling to red and crying. 

“About orangey-frowny?” Liam answered.

Dr. Malik closed his eyes for a minute, taking a deep breath and chuckling. “Orangey-frowny is which number?”

Liam’s face flushed as he took in the numbers above and below the drawings. “Seventy-nine.”

Dr. Malik’s brows furrowed. “Would you say you’re more a yellow-orange or a red-orange?” He reached for the IV pole that held the machine they used to take vitals. He pulled out a thermometer and ran it across Liam’s forehead. “Normal.”

“He’s not usually this clueless,” Louis said, looking worried. 

Liam frowned. “I don’t know what colour it hurts! It just hurts!” he whined, feeling ridiculous. 

The chuckling stopped and a soft smile crossed the doctor’s face. “What exactly happened?”

“I fell off a ladder,” Liam explained for the fifteenth time since they’d arrived an hour earlier.

“Did you hit your head?” Dr. Malik moved to stand in front of Liam and run his hands through Liam’s curly hair, fingertips prodding his scalp gently.

Liam was ready to purr from the feeling; he loved when people played with his hair. “I don’t think so,” Liam said, squinting his eyes shut as he tried to remember. He let out a small whimper when Zayn ran over a spot just over his right ear. “Lou?”

“I don’t know.” Louis rose and crossed to stand next to Liam, taking his uninjured hand gently. The doctor glanced at their joined hands, the corners of his lips turning down in a frown. “I heard him yell, came running, and he was lying on the ground next to the ladder screaming that his arm hurts.” 

Dr. Malik ran his hand over the spot again, frowning. “It feels like you might have a small contusion.” He took out a small flashlight, shining it in Liam’s eyes. “Pupils are responsive.” He placed his hands on Liam’s neck, pressing gently against the top of his spine as he ran his hands back up into his hair. “Don’t feel any damage to the neck, but I am concerned about a concussion.”

Dr. Malik was looking directly into Liam’s eyes, causing him to squirm a bit, especially when he realized the doctor was standing in the crook of Liam’s legs. He flashed the light in Liam’s eyes again before nodding. “I think I should keep you,” he finally said, stepping away.

“Keep me?” Liam squeaked at the same point Louis raised an eyebrow and snorted.

“For observation. Just to be sure it’s not more serious,” he explained, flipping through Liam’s chart. “Should just be for the night, you’ll be free to go in the morning if there are no other issues.” He moved to the other side of the room as Louis continued to look at Liam, eyes worried. “If your boyfriend would like to stay with you, I can make arrangements with a nurse.”

Louis laughed out loud. “Not his boyfriend, mate,” he told the doctor, shaking his head. The corners of the doctor’s mouth twitched. “Does that mean I can’t stay?”

“Are you family?”

“I’m his brother,” Louis responded, quickly, his glare challenging the doctor to argue.

“No, he’s not,” Liam whimpered, pulling his hand away. “He’s an evil wanker who talks me into doing stuff that leads me to get hurt.” 

Louis put a hand to his chest, making an affronted noise as the doctor let out a laugh. “Sounds like the very definition of a brother to me.” He washed his hands before picking up Liam’s chart again. “I’ll have a nurse come and take you to your observation room.”

Liam watched the doctor leave, then turned to look at Louis, his jaw dropped. “Was that a pain-induced hallucination?”

“Now, you’re making sense!” Louis said, swatting Liam in the arm that he’d hurt and wincing when Liam shouted, and the doctor stuck his head back in the door. “Sorry!” Louis said, throwing his hands in the air.

“Don’t make me call security on you,” the doctor said with a wink to Liam, who would have blushed if his face weren’t already bright red with pain. The doctor walked back into the room. “I’m going to have them get you a shot of Demerol for the pain. You’re looking pretty red and crying right now.” The doctor ran his hands gently down Liam’s arm, pressing gently on the muscles. Liam yelped when he got to his bicep. “Definitely some bruising. Possibly bone bruising, since it’s not broken, but that painful.”

“He’s going to be alright, though, yeah?” Louis asked.

“He’ll be fine. I’m still more concerned about the concussion than the arm, to be honest.” He looked at Liam. “Does anything else hurt?” Liam shook his head and groaned. “Yeah, maybe stick to verbal answers.”

Liam would stick to verbal answers if his tongue would cooperate around the attractive doctor. His brain, as well, seemed to take a vacation whenever he was faced with him. “‘Kay,” he finally managed. “Thanks.”

“Just doing my job,” Dr. Malik responded before heading out of the room again.

Liam stayed at the hospital overnight but didn’t see Dr. Malik again. He was disappointed, but it wasn’t like he could ask him out or anything. He could barely speak around the man. He’d probably embarrassed himself enough to last a lifetime. A large part of him really prayed that he’d never have to go through that humiliation again.

Apparently, praying was not something that worked for Liam. Two weeks later, he was sitting in the same exam room with his hand wrapped in a bloody towel, the room spinning slightly. “I hate you,” Liam slurred to Louis, who was cackling in the chair, barely able to sit up.

“No, you don’t. Besides, maybe you’ll get sexy doc again!” Louis’ voice was loud and Liam winced, hoping that no one outside of the room could hear him.

“Shhhhhh,” Liam tried to hush him as the door opened and Dr. Malik walked in, looking equal bits fond and concerned.

“We meet again, Mr. Payne.” He shook his head. “You know, I really thought the last name was just a coincidence, but I’m starting to think you actually enjoy it.” Liam blinked at the doctor, not quite following his train of thought. “Never mind. My sense of humour is clearly wasted on the...” He trailed off as he sniffed the air, wrinkling his nose in disgust. “On the completely pissed.” Louis opened his mouth, but the doctor just glared at him. “So, what kind of trouble did your  _ brother _ get you into today?”

Liam held up his hand. “I slipped and a window broke my fall,” he said, his words slurred and his vision blurring a bit as he noticed just how red the white hand towel had become.

“Looks more like your fall broke a window,” the doctor said as he gently unwrapped the hand, trying and failing to hide a wince as the wound was revealed. “Well, you’re going to need a few stitches. Are you up to date with your tetanus shots?”

“My tennis shots suck,” Liam said, giggling.

“Well, I’m going to go get a suture kit and a tetanus injection,” Dr. Malik said, his smile fond as he looked at the giggling boy. “I was going to recommend another shot of Demerol, but I think you’re still feeling no pain.”

“You keep trying to stick me!” Liam joked, his face flushing as soon as the words were out of his mouth, and Louis laughed hard enough to fall off the chair.

“Please tell me that neither of you drove here.” The doctor looked genuinely concerned but sounded mildly annoyed.

“We walked,” Liam responded, smiling with pride that he’d been smart enough not to drive.

“Stumbled, more like,” the doctor mumbled as he left the room.

Liam folded in on himself, the giggly feeling he’d been having fading quickly under the handsome doctor’s disappointment in him. “He hates me,” Liam whined. Louis pushed himself up from where he was still sprawled on the floor and made it to Liam’s side, falling against him. He didn’t offer any words, just cuddled Liam.

They were starting to doze off when the doctor entered again, a younger man in scrubs with his hair pulled up into a bun at his side, carrying a tray. “Your boyfriend is going to have to move for the procedure.” Dr. Malik’s voice was stiff, and Liam gave him a surprised look, noticing as the boy in scrubs did the same.

“Not his boyfriend,” Louis corrected, eyeing the newcomer hungrily. “I am most decidedly single.” He stood from the table and approached the boy, holding a hand out. “Name’s Louis Tomlinson, but people call me Tommo.”

The boy raised an eyebrow, smirking slightly as he waved a gloved hand in the air. “Harry Styles, Patient Care Assistant.”

“Well, Harold-”

“Stop flirting with my assistant or I’ll have to ask you to leave,” Dr. Malik snapped.

Louis had the good sense to look ashamed as he moved to the chair, smiling sadly at Liam. Liam was watching the whole thing with fascination. Dr. Malik laid out three syringes before looking up at him, his gaze shuttered. “Are you sure you should be coming at me with sharp objects when you’re in a bad mood?” Liam asked, swallowing hard as the doctor picked up the first syringe and moved to Liam’s shoulder.

He was cleaning the spot with an alcohol wipe as he responded. “I’m not in a bad mood.” His voice was terse and devoid of warmth. 

“Uh huh.”

The doctor paused, looking taken aback for a moment before he chuckled, his demeanor relaxing. “I’m sorry, Mr. Payne-”

“Liam,” he interrupted. 

“Liam. This is going to hurt a bit.” He pressed the needle into the muscle of Liam’s arm, earning a hiss when he pressed the plunger.

“Not as bad as the Demerol,” he responded, remembering the burning pain of that injection from his previous visit.

“No, but the arm will probably be sore for a couple of days. Don’t baby it. Move it around to help the serum run through your body.” Liam nodded as the doctor moved around and picked up one of the other syringes. “I’m going to numb up your hand. Then we’ll have to remove the bits of glass before cleaning and suturing the wound. Harry is going to help me out, alright?”

Liam nodded, watching intently as he pressed the needle into multiple spots in his hand. He smiled as the pain he’d been beginning to feel began to disappear completely. He giggled and tried to move his fingers, earning a light smack on the knee from Dr. Malik. “Stop fidgeting.” When he was done, he glanced up at Liam before picking up a small paper cup and handing it to him. “Take these for the pain.” Liam opened his mouth to argue. “It might not hurt now, but it will. So, take these or I’m going to get more Demerol.”

Liam quickly threw back the pills making grabby gestures with his uninjured hand at the cup of water. Once the pills were swallowed, he stuck his tongue out, wiggling it around to show the doctor they were gone. The doctor shook his head but didn’t look amused like Liam had been hoping; his heart fell a bit further.

“I’m going to give all of this a couple of moments to take effect while I check on another patient. Harry will stay in here and keep an eye on you.” The doctor was out the door before Liam could respond. 

“You’ll have to forgive him. Zayn’s boyfriend left him. Came home this morning and everything was just gone. Poof!” Harry said conspiratorially as soon as the door closed, leaving the three of them to stare at each other. 

“Zayn?” Liam asked, starting to feel a bit woozy from the alcohol leaving his system and the sight of his hand, which looked much worse with semi-sober eyes. Harry grabbed a pink bin from the table next to him, holding it in front of Liam, who pushed it away. “‘M not gonna chunder, mate.” He was grateful when Harry set aside the bin and helped him lay back on the table. 

“Tommo, was it?” Harry asked, startling Louis awake.

He hopped to his feet. “Yes, Harold?”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Not my name, but can you grab one of the towels from above the sink, wet it and bring it here?” Louis nodded, moving quickly to follow the instructions. He was back at their side in a few moments, handing the towel to Harry who dabbed gently at Liam’s face. “There we go. Think the shock of the injury and the alcohol are both starting to wear off, but those pills Zayn gave you should take care of the pain pretty quickly.”

“Doesn’t hurt,” Liam argued, but the grey tinge to his skin belied his words. “Who’s Zayn?” He knew he should know the answer to that question, but his brain was not cooperating in the slightest. He could feel it getting cloudier as he sat there, moving to lay back on the bed with Harry’s help.

Harry blushed. “I’ve done it again. Please don’t tell Dr. Malik I called him Zayn to you. He’ll take the piss outta me for being too fam-” He cut off quickly as the door to the room opened.

“Dr. Malik’s boyfriend left him? But he’s so pretty.” Liam spoke while closing his eyes. He fell asleep to the sound of laughter, probably at his expense.

Liam awoke still in the same room, but with a couple more pillows around and a blanket over him. Louis was snoring softly in the chair next to the table. He blinked towards the door, noticing Dr. Malik peeking inside. 

“Good morning,” he said, entering the room. Liam noted he wasn’t in scrubs and white coat anymore, but jeans and a leather jacket. “How are you feeling?”

“Doctor?” Liam croaked out.

“Yeah,” he said as he opened a bottle of water and held it out. “Getting ready to head home for the day. Thought I’d check on you since you passed out on me before I finished your hand last night.” Liam looked at the water and back up to the doctor. “Just drink the water.” Liam shook his head and buried himself deeper under the pillows, feeling a bit embarrassed, although he didn’t know why. “Leeyum,” the doctor needled.

“You’ll have to make me,” Liam muttered, pulling a pillow over his face. The pillow was removed a moment later and Liam looked up into the smiling face of the doctor. 

“Well, c’mon then. C’mon!” the doctor needled, but Liam just shook his head, trying to ignore the slight nausea the movement caused. “Thought so.” His face turned soft as he looked over Liam. “Please, just drink the water.” He forced the bottle into Liam’s good hand, replacing the pillow over Liam’s face. Liam heard the door close before he peeked out from under the pillow to find he was alone in the room with the still-snoring Louis. He took a tentative sip of the water and thought of the doctor visiting him when he was off-the-clock.

Liam made it nearly a month before he had to visit the hospital again. This time he’d inhaled something nasty at the garage where he worked part time. He’d ended up passing out and hitting his head. He’d woken up in the emergency room, but the only familiar face he saw was Harry’s. 

“Hey, sleeping beauty,” he said, when Liam blinked open his eyes, choking on the tube down his throat. “Relax. Relax.” Liam couldn’t do that; he didn’t know what was going on.

“Hey, Liam,” another voice spoke, drawing Liam’s attention away from Harry. Dr. Malik stood over him, in the leather jacket he’d been wearing the last time he’d seen him. “I just got here and saw your name on the board.” He turned to Harry. “What’s he done now?” While he was talking, he ran his hand through Liam’s hair, causing him to relax just a little bit.

“Exposure to a noxious fume. Passed out. Intubated at the site. Just woke up. Won’t calm down so we can remove the respirator tube.” Harry stopped to look at Liam who was staring up at the doctor with glazed over eyes. “Well, then,” he said with a chuckle.

“Okay, let Harry and the other doctor do their jobs while I get changed, yeah?” Liam blinked up at him before narrowing his eyes. “Why do I think the words ‘make me’ are on the tip of your tongue?” 

Liam tried to grin, but the tube between his lips made it difficult. As soon as Dr. Malik left the room, he glanced over at Harry and the other doctor who were cracking jokes as they worked to remove the tube from his throat. Once it was out, he tried to speak, but Harry laid a hand over his mouth as the blond man put an oxygen mask over his nose, snapping it against the back of Harry’s hand.

“My name is Dr. Horan,” the man said, smiling at Liam. “Your throat is probably going to hurt for awhile, so keep the talking to a minimum. We’d like to keep you on the oxygen until your pulse ox readings are better.” He pointed to the screen next to Liam, tapping on a blue number that read 82. “Want this to be at the very least 90, but closer to 100 would be best.” Liam opened his mouth, but the doctor glared at him, so Liam just nodded his understanding. “We’ll be moving you to a room as soon as one becomes available. Until then, just try to relax and press this button if you need anything.” 

Liam managed a small smile, hoping that conveyed his thanks. The doctor winked as he left the room, leaving Harry and Liam alone. “You could come up with less drastic ways to see Zayn, ya know?” he said, and Liam began to choke on the argument that jumped to his lips. 

After several minutes of coughing, spittle covering the inside of the oxygen mask and dripping down his chin as Harry tried to calm him, Liam heard the door open. Dr. Malik rushed over, hazel eyes shadowed with concern. “If you kill him, Styles, you’ll have no way to talk to his friend,” he snapped, pulling away Liam’s mask and gently wiping his face with the towel that Harry had managed to grab before squawking in embarrassment.  “Unless you plan to woo him at the funeral.”

Liam’s eyes were widening the more the doctor spoke. “Funeral?” he rasped out. “I’m gonna die?”

“No, no. Sorry. My sense of humour is shit sometimes. You’re fine.” He glanced over at the monitor, Liam following his gaze and seeing the blue number had dropped. “Or you will be if we keep this on you.” He adjusted the oxygen mask over Liam’s face. “Just keep breathing as evenly as you can. Calm.” His voice was low, forcing Liam to stop freaking out to hear him.

“Make me,” he managed lowly, bringing a smile to Dr. Malik’s face.

“Nah, mate. I think if I tried, you’d manage to kick my arse,” he responded as Dr. Horan returned. 

“Trying to steal my patient, Malik?” he joked.

“I saw him first, Niall,” the doctor joked back. “Back off.” Dr. Malik let out a playful growl, surprising everyone in the room. Dr. Horan lifted his hands in surrender and backed out of the room. Dr. Malik turned back to Liam, laughing at his wide eyes. “Sorry about that.” Liam just shrugged his shoulders, lifting a hand to his throat and rubbing at it to try to convey the discomfort to the doctor. “Yeah, your throat is going to be sore for a bit, but I’ll get you some water and bring it by on my next round.”

Once Dr. Malik was out of the room, Liam turned to look at Harry who was looking at something on the computer next to the table, a small smile on his lips. Liam reached out and tapped Harry’s arm twice, drawing his attention. “Yeah?” Liam pointed towards the door and furrowed his eyebrows. “Umm...what?”

Liam made grabby hands toward the tablet of paper on the computer station. Harry handed it over, pulling a pen out of his scrubs pocket as well and handing them over.  _ “He seems to be in a better mood.” _

Harry settled onto the bed next to Liam, reading as he wrote. “Better than?”

_ “The last time. His boyfriend leaving.” _ Liam felt foolish admitting to having remembered that tidbit of information about the physician.

Harry chuckled. “Took some time, but he picked himself back up. The guy was a loser anyway.” He glanced toward the door before leaning closer to Liam. “Although, today is the most of the old Zayn I’ve seen in a long time.” Harry patted Liam’s thigh. “Having his favourite patient back again probably helped.” Liam’s eyebrows shot up just as Dr. Malik entered the room again, a styrofoam cup in his hand. “Don’t tell him I said that,” Harry hissed and disappeared from the room, leaving the two of them alone.

“How are you feeling?” Liam shrugged, touching his throat again. The doctor’s eyes looked at the monitor, frowning slightly before he adjusted a nozzle on the wall. Liam could feel the air through the mask pick up in pressure a bit. “That number isn’t going up as quickly as I would like.” He reached for the pad of paper, taking it as he gave Liam the cup, adjusting the straw so it could poke through the side of Liam’s mask and reach his mouth.

As he moved around the bed to set the paper down, Liam watched his eyes tracing the words and widen slightly before he mumbled, “I’m going to kill that wanker.”

“No!” Liam uttered, sending himself into a coughing fit. He dropped the cup, the lid coming off, contents spilling all over the bed as Zayn rushed to his side, pulling Liam into a sitting position and rubbing gently at his back until the coughing subsided.

“No talking,” he reminded. “I won’t really kill him, but he needs to stop gossiping about my personal life.” Liam opened his mouth to speak but shut it again at the narrow-eyed look he got. He pointed to the tablet, smiling when it was returned to his hands.

_ “I asked. Thought you were angry cuz I was drunk.” _

“No. You’re an adult, you can do whatever you wish. I’m sorry I gave you that impression.” He ran a hand over the back of his neck just as his pager went off. Glancing down, he gave Liam an apologetic look. “Duty calls. I’m sure you’ll be moved upstairs soon.”

He got up to leave the room. Liam tried to call out to him, but thought better of it, taking the tablet and slamming it against the table before scribbling furiously as the doctor turned back towards the bed.  _ “Thank you, Dr. Malik.” _

The doctor chuckled. “Think we’ve spent enough time together that you can call me Zayn.” He tilted his head for a moment. “I want to say ‘see you soon,’ but I think I’d rather you stay healthy. I’m a bit afraid what you could do to top this one.”

Liam smiled behind his mask, waving a hand.  _ “Bye, Zayn,”  _ he thought as the man disappeared into the hallway. Closing his eyes, Liam allowed himself to drift off to sleep, waiting until they woke him to move him upstairs.

Two mornings later, Liam was still in the hospital, apparently having developed an infection in his lungs. He still had the mask on, but was able to talk in short spurts before the coughing took over. Louis had promised he’d bring breakfast, the food in the hospital was awful, but Liam wasn’t completely surprised that he hadn’t shown up yet. The night before, he’d ventured downstairs in search of Harry. A half-hour after that, Liam had received a text saying, _ “Gotta date!” _ He’d heard nothing since.

Liam groaned as he sent Louis a text, inquiring about breakfast, but wasn’t going to hold his breath waiting for a response. He was about to break down and text his mum, who still didn’t know he was even in the hospital, having sworn his boss and Louis to absolute secrecy, when the door to his room opened, a knock sounding as it did.

“Good morning,” Zayn said, as he poked a head into the room, leather jacket draped over one arm, a drink carrier holding two coffee cups in the other. “Heard you were staying with us a bit longer than planned.”

Liam was staring, he knew he was staring, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. He blinked and rubbed at his eyes and then his ears, wondering if his infection caused hallucinations. He would have to remember to ask his doctor that when he saw him. 

“Liam?” Zayn asked, his voice heavy with concern, as he hurried to the bedside, setting down the carrier on the overbed table and tossing his jacket in a chair. He reached a hand up, laying his wrist against Liam’s forehead for a moment before his eyes went to the screen. “Hey, you alright?”

“You’re here,” Liam said. Zayn nodded as he gently took Liam’s wrist in hand, glancing at his watch, clearly taking his pulse even though the monitor next to the bed was starting to beat quite erratically. “I mean,” Liam said, gently extricating himself from Zayn’s hold. “Why are you here?”

“The coffee here is crap,” Zayn said, smiling, but worry still clouding his hazel eyes. Liam stared into them, noticing a stray bit of colour floating in the white of his left eye. “So, I thought I’d bring you some.”

“Thanks,” Liam said, smiling softly, but making silly grabby hands at the cups.

Zayn chuckled as he gently rocked one of the cups to remove it from the carrier. He handed it to Liam. “Cream or sugar?”

“Four sugars, please,” Liam asked, gently pulling the lid off the cup and inhaling deeply. “Heavenly.” He smiled as Zayn poured the sugars into the cup right under Liam’s nose and then stirred it quickly before tapping the end of Liam’s nose with the stir stick.

Liam giggled at the move, but that quickly turned into coughing, making him spill the coffee over his hand. He released the cup in shock from the heat, thankful when he saw Zayn catch it and move it to the table before it ended up in his lap burning something more important than his hand. 

The coughing subsided quickly as Zayn pulled Liam to sit up more, rubbing his back. As soon as it was done, Zayn disappeared into the restroom, returning with a small basin of water and a washcloth. “Hold your hand over the basin,” he instructed before wetting the washcloth and wringing it out over his hand, letting the cold water run over the heated flesh. “Hopefully, this will stop the burn from becoming too severe.”

“Thanks,” Liam muttered, feeling the heat in his face more than his hand now. It didn’t seem to matter what he did, he was always making an arse of himself in front of Zayn.

“It’s not a problem, babe,” Zayn said, as he dropped the cloth into the basin and returned to the restroom.

_ “Babe?” _ Liam thought as he fiddled with his blanket, waiting for Zayn to return.

“Look, I’ve got to get going. I’m meeting my family for breakfast. They’ll worry if I’m late, but I’ll check on you again tonight if you’re still here,” Zayn said, grabbing his jacket and the other cup of coffee. 

“Bye,” Liam called as Zayn disappeared out the door with a wave, leaving him to feel a bit like he’d just been tossed around in a cyclone. Shaking his head a bit, he reached for the coffee cup, lifting it to his lips and taking a tentative sip.  _ “Perfect,”  _ he thought, smiling as he returned the cup to the table.

His phone buzzed and he looked to see a message from Louis.  _ “I’m in love!” _ Laughing out loud, stopping just before he began to choke again, Liam shot back,  _ “Of course you are.”  _ He was happy for his friend, but a bit jealous as well, after all, every time he got close to the guy he’d developed a bit of a crush on, he made a complete and utter fool of himself. There was no way a guy as smart and accomplished and put together as Zayn would ever be interested in him.

Liam played with the bed controls so he could lay back a bit more. He reached for the coffee cup, stopping when he noticed writing on one side. A phone number was scribbled above the words,  _ “C’mon then.” _

Liam reached for his phone, his heart fluttering a bit as he entered Zayn’s number. He hesitated for a moment before opening a new text message. He typed quickly and hit send before he changed his mind, chewing his lower lip as he looked down at the words,  _ “Make me” _ and the bubble with three dots that immediately appeared beneath it.

**Author's Note:**

> Please feel free to come talk to me on Twitter or tumblr. I really love meeting new people!


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